scholarly journals Load-shedding and the Declining Energy Availability Factor: A Case Study of a South African Power Station

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Z. Kock ◽  
Krishna K. Govender

Through a mixed methods study, which included a survey among a stratified sample of 70 employees and interviews with 11 managers, this paper reports on the factors which led to a decline in power generation by Eskom’s Camden Power Station. The impact of the declining energy available factor (EAF) was significant, primarily on economic activities, employment, revenue loss due to load-shedding, and corporate social responsibility. The main causes of the declining EAF included leadership instability, financial constraints, inadequate plant maintenance, process-related challenges, bottle necks in the procurement of replacement parts, poor quality spare parts, high staff turnover, poor employee morale, poor workmanship and poor quality coal.It is recommended that funding for EAF related projects be prioritized, the performance of the acting managers needs to closely managed, sources of coal be streamlined, the training of quality control personnel and contract supervisors be improved and staff morale be urgently addressed.   Received: 7 September 2021 / Accepted: 7 October 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keshara Manindri De Silva ◽  
Chitra Sriyani De Silva Lokuwaduge

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically review the existing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) to develop a framework to analyse the impact of CSR on employee commitment to the organisation. Design/methodology/approach Using the scoping review, this paper reviewed the published articles on CSR and employee commitment and how CSR and employee commitment were defined, theoretically supported and conceptualised for a comprehensive understanding of current and future research directions in the field. Findings This paper presents a framework developed through the analysis of existing literature on the impact of CSR) on employee commitment to the organisation. This framework aims to explore the impact of internal CSR and external CSR on employee commitment while using the contractual position of employees as an intervening variable. Originality/value During a time where employee attraction and retention is widely discussed as a competitive advantage, this framework could be used by any industry, especially those with high staff turnover such as mining. The researchers propose to use this framework to explore how perception towards external CSR (directed towards external stakeholders) and perception towards internal CSR (directed towards the own employees) can influence organisational identification and commitment levels. To address several gaps in the literature, this model is based on the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Social-Identity Theory.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-418
Author(s):  
Peter H. Makovere ◽  
Hlanganipai Ngirande

The study investigated the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Competitive Advantage on Zimbabwean listed companies. A stratified sample of 10 participants from 10 companies listed on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange was utilised to examine the influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive advantage during a period from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013. The study utilised a mixed method approach and data was analysed in the form of descriptive statistics. The results show a significant influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive edge on Zimbabwe stock exchange listed companies. Results also reveal that the degree to which social responsibility is emphasized can impact a firm’s credibility, ultimately influencing the ability to raise capital, retain effective and productive staff, bid for quality raw materials from reputable suppliers and even manage to secure relatively lucrative growth opportunities. All these collectively help entities build and sustain strong competitive edges against their fellow competitors


2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (4I) ◽  
pp. 355-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafiz A. Pasha ◽  
Wasim Saleem

The widespread and growing phenomenon of power load shedding has emerged as one of the principal supply-side constraints to growth of the economy of Pakistan. Not only has this led to significant losses of output, employment and exports but also during periods of high outages there have been large-scale protests, particularly in Punjab and KPK. Households have faced severe disruptions due to the high and growing incidence of load shedding. These have led to mass protests on streets resulting in disruption of other economic activities. As such, the economic return of reducing outages and of facilitating the process of adjustment to these outages is likely to be high. This paper provides an approach and methodology for quantifying cost of load shedding to households in Pakistan. It is organised as follows: Section 2 highlights some key trends in the power sector of Pakistan. Section 3 will present a detailed literature review on the methodology used for quantification of costs due to outages. Section 4 describes the methodology used for qualification of costs due to outages and for estimation of willingness to pay. Section 5 presents estimates of the cost of load shedding in the domestic sector of Pakistan. Finally, Section 6 highlights the major policy implications emerging from the research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ester Sarah Feronika ◽  
Khairani Rahma Silva ◽  
Santoso Tri Raharjo ◽  
Risna Resnawaty

Perjalanan Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) di dunia sejak tahun 1970-an telah mengalami banyak perkembangan, sebagaimana pula di Indonesia. CSR kini tidak lagi hanya sekedar etika bisnis semata, tetapi CSR telah payung dan berkembangan dengan berbagai pendekatan baik politik, ekonomi, maupun kepentingan sosial. Seringkali CSR hanya menjadi salah cara untuk memperkuat citra perusahaan, atau kepentingan politik sebuah brand tertentu. Salah satu isu yang ditangani kepedulian Progam CSR adalah mengatasi persoalan lingkungan, baik mengatasi kerusahan lingkungan maupun  pemeliharaan lingkungan; selain isu peningkatan sumber daya manusia di bidang pendidikan, peningkatan usaha ekonomi, dan dukungan kesehatan. Beragam cara implementasi CSR diterapkan dengan berbagai jenis inovasinya masing-masing demi manfaat bagi lingkungan sekitar. Umumnya, bentuk CSR dapat berupa penggalangan dana, pemberian bantuan fasilitas, atau sarana dan prasarana pendukung untuk kemajuan sebuah kawasan atau komunitas tertentu. Upaya CSR pelestarian lingkungan dilakukan khususnya pada industri ekstraktif,  yaitu perusahaan yang beroperasi dengan memanfaatkan sumber daya alam. Mereka berupaya meminimalisasi dampak kerusakan yang timbul pada kerusakan kelestarian lingkungan, yang mungkin dapat mengganggu kehidupan sosial masyarakat. Eksploitasi yang yang belerbihan akan merusak ekosistem, hingga akhirnya dapat mengancam kegiatan perekonomian masyarakat. Pemerintah di setiap negara mendorong pada setiap perusahaan/ industri ekstraktif untuk melakukan tanggung jawab sosialnya dalam bidang lingkungan, sehingga di masa depan akan semakin banyak perusahaan peduli terhadap lingkungan. Begitu pentingnya isu lingkungan, sebagian besar pemerintahan di berbagai negara mengeluarkan berbagai kebijakan khusus berkenaan implementasi CSR peduli lingkungan. The journey of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the world since the 1970s has experienced many developments, as well as in Indonesia. CSR is no longer just a mere business ethics, but CSR has been an umbrella and developed with variou s approaches both political, economic, and social interests. Often CSR is just a way to strengthen the company's image, or the political interests of a particular brand. One of the issues addressed by CSR Program concerns is overcoming environmental proble ms, both overcoming environmental problems and environmental preservation; in addition to the issue of increasing human resources in the field of education, increasing economic effort, and health support. Different ways of implementing CSR are implemented with different types of innovations each for the benefit of the surrounding environment. Generally, the form of CSR can be in the form of fundraising, providing assistance facilities, or supporting facilities and infrastructure for the progress of a partic ular region or community. Environmental conservation CSR efforts are carried out especially in extractive industries, namely companies that operate by utilizing natural resources. They try to minimize the impact of damage arising from damage to environment al sustainability, which may be able to disrupt people's social lives. Excessive exploitation will damage the ecosystem, which in turn can threaten the economic activities of the community. The government in each country encourages each extractive company / industry to carry out its social responsibilities in the environmental field, so that in the future more and more companies will care about the environment. Once the importance of environmental issues, most governments in various countries issued various specific policies regarding the implementation of CSR care for the environment 


Methodology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Rutkowski ◽  
Yan Zhou

Abstract. Given a consistent interest in comparing achievement across sub-populations in international assessments such as TIMSS, PIRLS, and PISA, it is critical that sub-population achievement is estimated reliably and with sufficient precision. As such, we systematically examine the limitations to current estimation methods used by these programs. Using a simulation study along with empirical results from the 2007 cycle of TIMSS, we show that a combination of missing and misclassified data in the conditioning model induces biases in sub-population achievement estimates, the magnitude and degree to which can be readily explained by data quality. Importantly, estimated biases in sub-population achievement are limited to the conditioning variable with poor-quality data while other sub-population achievement estimates are unaffected. Findings are generally in line with theory on missing and error-prone covariates. The current research adds to a small body of literature that has noted some of the limitations to sub-population estimation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. 103-110
Author(s):  
S. Tomassi ◽  
M. Ruggeri

Summary Background: The global crisis that began in 2007 has been the most prolonged economic recession since 1929. It has caused worldwide tangible costs in terms of cuts in employment and income, which have been widely recognised also as major social determinants of mental health (1, 2). The so-called “Great Recession” has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable part of society of the whole Eurozone (3). Across Europe, an increase in suicides and deaths rates due to mental and behavioural disorders was reported among those who lost their jobs, houses and economic activities as a consequence of the crisis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Serdar KUZU

The size of international trade continues to extend rapidly from day to day as a result of the globalization process. This situation causes an increase in the economic activities of businesses in the trading area. One of the main objectives of the cost system applied in businesses is to be able to monitor the competitors and the changes that can be occured as a result of the developments in the sector. Thus, making cost accounting that is proper according to IAS / IFRS and tax legislation has become one of the strategic targets of the companies in most countries. In this respect, businesses should form their cost and pricing systems according to new regulations. Transfer pricing practice is usefull in setting the most proper price for goods that are subject to the transaction, in evaluating the performance of the responsibility centers of business, and in determining if the inter-departmental pricing system is consistent with targets of the business. The taxing powers of different countries and also the taxing powers of different institutions in a country did not overlap. Because of this reason, bringing new regulations to the tax system has become essential. The transfer pricing practice that has been incorporated into the Turkish Tax System is one of the these regulations. The transfer pricing practice which includes national and international transactions has been included in the Corporate Tax Law and Income Tax Law. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of goods and services transfer that will occur between departments of businesses on the responsibility center and business performance, and also the impact of transfer pricing practice on the business performance on the basis of tax-related matters. As a result of the study, it can be said that transfer pricing practice has an impact on business performance in terms of both price and tax-related matters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1896-1915
Author(s):  
E.R. Ermakova ◽  
O.M. Lizina

Subject. The article addresses the specifics of shadow economic activities in reformed Russia in the context of systemic transformations. Objectives. We focus on determining the role of shadow economy in the reproductive process, identifying and understanding the specifics of underground economic activity of the Russian economy. Methods. The study rests on general scientific methods (scientific abstraction, unity of historical and logical, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison and analogy) and special methods of cognition (monetary methods). We employ the systems and integrated approach. The official statistics, regulations, works of leading researchers on shadow economy expansion, resources of reference and legal systems like Garant and ConsultantPlus serve as the study's information base. Results. We present a retrospective rapid analysis of the extent of shadow economic activity in the domestic economy, establishing the relationships with the processes that take place at different stages of the country's development. We also reveal the specifics of shadow economy relations in Russia, factors that play a key role in expansion for a particular period, a shift to another form of shadow economy. The study characterizes the current period of development, assesses the impact of external shocks on shadow economy expansion. Conclusions. The current period is characterized by the digitization of shadow relations, the shift of corruption to the upper echelons of power, the continued outflow of capital abroad, and increased penalties for underground activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 800-821
Author(s):  
E.V. Popov ◽  
K.A. Semyachkov

Subject. The article addresses economic relations that are formed in various areas of economic application of digital platforms. The target of the research is the modern economy of digital platforms across different economic activities. Objectives. The aim is to systematize principles for share economy formation in the context of the digital society development. Methods. We employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The study shows that the development of digital platforms is one of the most important trends in the development of the modern economy. We classified certain characteristic features of modern digital platforms, analyzed principles for their creation. The paper emphasizes that the network effects achieved through the use of digital platforms are an important factor in the development of the share economy. The network effect describes the impact of the number of the platform users on the value created for each of them. The paper also considers differences in the organization of traditional economy companies and companies that are based on the digital platform model, reveals specifics of changes in socio-economic systems caused by the development of digital platforms, systematizes principles of the sharing economy formation in the context of the digital society development. Conclusions. The analyzed principles for sharing economy development on the basis of digital platforms can be applied to create models for the purpose of forecasting the transformation of economic activity in the post-industrial society.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Sura Altheeb ◽  
Kholoud Sudqi Al-Louzi

The current research investigates the impact of internal corporate social responsibility on job satisfaction in Jordanian pharmaceutical companies. Quantitative research design and regression analysis were applied on a total of 302 valid returns that were obtained in a questionnaire based survey from 14 pharmaceutical companies among employees, supervisors and managers. The results showed that internal corporate social responsibility was significantly related to job satisfaction and three of its dimensions, namely working conditions, work life balance and empowerment contributed significantly to job satisfaction, whereas employment stability and skills development had no contribution. This study implies that Jordanian pharmaceutical companies have to try their best to promote and facilitate internal corporate social responsibility among their employees in an effort to improve their job satisfaction, which will eventually yield positive results for the company as a whole. In light of these results, the research presented many recommendations for future research; the most important ones were the application of this study in other sectors, cultures, and countries, and using of multi method for collecting data.


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